梵志頞波羅延問種尊經

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Buddha was dwelling in the Jeta Grove, in Anāthapiṇḍika's Park, in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time five hundred bhikṣus were assembled together with him.

At that time there were five hundred brahmins in the city of Śrāvastī. These five hundred men went out of the city together and came to their thatched hut out in the open fields, where they sat down together and discussed, saying:

"When human beings first appeared upon this earth, they were all of our brahmin lineage. The kṣatriya lineage was the second, the householder-farmer lineage was the third, and the artisan lineage was the fourth. The brahmin lineage, when it was first born, was born from the mouth of Brahmā; whereas people of the present age, on the contrary, are born from below.

Thus, throughout the world, our lineage is the most exalted. Our lineage are all descendants of the seventh Brahmā. But the Buddha says the opposite—that throughout the world there is only one species.

The Buddha holds that our lineage, together with the kṣatriyas, the householder-farmers, and the artisans, are all equal. When our lineage die, we are all reborn in the Brahmā heaven. On the contrary, the Buddha holds that our lineage is the same as ordinary folk."

They discussed together, saying:

"Who is able to expound and to distinguish, regarding the matter of species, in debate with the Buddha?"

At that time there was a son of a brahmin, only fifteen or sixteen years of age, named Aṭ Ba La Diên the Great Sage, who knew thoroughly the various crafts of artisans and the books, and who knew the directions of approach. Among the five hundred brahmins there was none who could match him, and the teachers all revered him. He could expound the scriptures and knew the affairs of the world. The body of the Great Sage Aṭ Ba La Diên bore extraordinary marks.

The brahmins discussed together, saying:

"Only Aṭ Ba La Diên is able to hold discourse with the Buddha. As for us, we cannot hold discourse with the Buddha."

The five hundred brahmins together said to Aṭ Ba La Diên:

"The Buddha holds that the people of the world are of only one species-nature. Our lineage is different from the kṣatriyas, the householder-farmers, and the artisans. Our lineage comes from Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā; but the people born in this present age are, on the contrary, born from below. The Buddha says: 'Throughout the world there are four species-natures, and these four species-natures are all equally good.' We beg Aṭ Ba La Diên to condescend to go with us to the place of the Buddha, that we may debate together."

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"The Buddha is one who holds to the right path and can respond in accordance with the right path. If you wish to bring up the matter of the brahmin species-nature and to question him, that will do. But no one is able to discuss the right path with him."

The five hundred brahmins all said:

"We honor Aṭ Ba La Diên as our teacher; why then should we not go to debate with the Buddha concerning these four species-natures?"

They spoke thus to one another two and three times, so Aṭ Ba La Diên then rose up and, together with the five hundred brahmins, went to the Jeta Grove where the Buddha was dwelling. The Venerable Ānanda addressed the Buddha:

"There is a son of a brahmin named Aṭ Ba La Diên, only fifteen or sixteen years of age, who has come together with five hundred brahmins and is waiting outside."

The Buddha said: "Invite them in."

The Venerable Ānanda went out and invited Aṭ Ba La Diên in. Aṭ Ba La Diên, together with the five hundred brahmins, all stood without making obeisance to the Buddha, and said:

"I have a small matter I wish to ask the Buddha."

The Buddha said: "Sit down."

Aṭ Ba La Diên addressed the Buddha:

"I have something I wish to ask; do you grant me permission?"

The Buddha said:

"If you have any doubt, then ask."

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"The brahmins say: 'Our lineage is different from the lineages of the kṣatriyas, the householder-farmers, and the artisans; for our lineage are descendants of Brahmā. Our forefathers, when first born, were all born from the mouth of Brahmā, and when they died, they were all born up in heaven.'"

The Buddha said:

"In my scripture I do not hold that the species are different from one another. For if a brahmin takes a daughter of a kṣatriya, the daughter of the kṣatriya will bear children; if a kṣatriya takes a daughter of a householder-farmer, the daughter of the householder-farmer will bear children; if a householder-farmer takes a daughter of an artisan, the daughter of the artisan will bear children; if an artisan takes a daughter of a brahmin, the daughter of the brahmin will bear children."

The Buddha said:

"In my scripture, action is taken as the root. If there is good action, that is the most supreme lineage. Those who are honored as noble in the world are all so because of wholesome action, and not because of lineage. In countless kalpas past, I too was born as the son of a brahmin, was also born as the son of a kṣatriya, was also born as the son of a householder-farmer, was also born as the son of an artisan, and even was born as the son of a king. Now, in this body of mine, I have become a Buddha."

The Buddha said to Aṭ Ba La Diên:

"I will ask you one thing. Answer in accordance with the truth."

The Buddha said:

"Do you sometimes see a person of the world born as the son of a good family, who afterward goes to serve as a servant for others? And the son of a servant who, on the contrary, becomes a master?"

Aṭ Ba La Diên addressed the Buddha:

"I have heard that in the country of the Yuezhi there is such a thing."

The Buddha said:

"For what reason does the son of a good family, on the contrary, go to serve as a servant, and the son of a servant, on the contrary, become a master? It is because the resolve in the heart of the slave does good deeds, so people make him a son. And one's own son who must become a slave is so because the resolve in his heart does evil deeds, and so he sells himself to another to become a slave."

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"If you say that human beings have species in this way, then from what is the lineage of human beings born?"

The Buddha said:

"If the four species-natures—brahmin, kṣatriya, householder-farmer, and artisan—all delight in killing, delight in stealing, delight in lust, delight in speaking with a double tongue, delight in speaking malicious words, delight in lying, delight in slander, delight in dwelling together with foolish people, delight in anger, delight in sacrifices—if they perform such deeds, will they fall into the hells or not?"

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"The brahmin lineage holds that, although one may do these evil deeds, our species is still the most exalted, being descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, and at death we are all born up in heaven."

The Buddha said:

"If there is a person of the brahmin, kṣatriya, householder-farmer, or artisan lineage who has no mind to kill, to steal, to indulge in lust, to speak with a double tongue, to speak malicious words, to lie; who has no mind that delights in slandering others; who has no mind that delights in dwelling together with foolish people; who has no mind that delights in anger and in sacrifices—will such a person, after death, not be born up in heaven?"

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"It is exactly so; they will all be born up in heaven."

The Buddha said:

"If you speak of species, then from where does it come?"

He said:

"Human beings are all born from the mind, the consciousness. If the mind and consciousness do good, then one is born up in heaven or born in the human realm. If the mind and consciousness are bad, then one is born among worms, beasts, animals, ghosts and spirits, or in the hells.

If there is a person of the brahmin, kṣatriya, householder-farmer, or artisan lineage who does evil, they must all be born into the three evil destinies. If this be so, then from where does lineage arise? A person of the brahmin lineage too does good and does evil; a kṣatriya also does good and does evil; a householder-farmer also does good and does evil; an artisan also does good and does evil.

If one says of oneself that there is a species, then in what place is that species? If a brahmin harbors resentment toward empty space, and a kṣatriya, a householder-farmer, an artisan also harbor resentment toward empty space, how could that cause empty space to be harmed? From this, understand: it is only that the brahmins, in this world, harbor self-conceit and arrogance, that is all.

When a brahmin, a kṣatriya, a householder-farmer, or an artisan enters a great stream of water to bathe, anyone can wash clean the filth in the water; who can distinguish which is the defilement of the brahmin, the defilement of the kṣatriya, the defilement of the householder-farmer, or the defilement of the artisan?"

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"The defilements are in the great stream of water."

The Buddha said:

"You should know in what place the defilements are. If you still do not know the defilement of human beings, yet on the contrary you say: 'Our species-nature originally is in heaven, born from the mouth of Brahmā, while the other species-natures are all born below, and our lineage is the most honored and noble among humankind.'"

The Buddha said:

"Aṭ Ba La Diên, suppose there is a king who hears it said that in some country, some commandery, some district, or some village there is a brahmin or the son of a brahmin who is lofty and brilliant, or a kṣatriya or the son of a kṣatriya who is lofty and brilliant, or a householder-farmer or the son of a householder-farmer who is lofty and brilliant, or an artisan or the son of an artisan who is lofty and brilliant. The king then summons them all to make them royal ministers.

Does the king ask about the species-nature of such a person? If the person has lofty talent and brilliant attainment, the king then grants him a commandery or a fine country. Why does the king not ask about the species of that person?

If you would speak of species, then, Aṭ Ba La Diên, in what place is its boundary? From the seats of the elders—before the elders there are five hundred people—why is there no inquiry as to which is the species, which is the master craftsman? If there be species of brahmin, kṣatriya, householder-farmer, artisan, and the other species, when it is cold they all come beside a great fire.

Does the heat of the fire warm only one species? The warmth is equal for all species. If there be a boat going upon the water, and a brahmin, a kṣatriya, a householder-farmer, or an artisan are all upon the boat, does the boat carry only the brahmin, and does it not also carry the other species?"

The Buddha said to Aṭ Ba La Diên:

"The son of a brahmin, a kṣatriya, a householder-farmer, an artisan, and the son of the other species—must they all dwell within the womb for ten months, with any increase or decrease?"

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"They must all dwell within the womb for ten months, with neither increase nor decrease."

The Buddha said:

"Why then do you hold that your own lineage are descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā? The brahmin, kṣatriya, householder-farmer, and artisan lineages are just like the other species. Why do the sun and the moon not shine for one species alone? Why do they shine upon all the species?"

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"My species holds that its own species surpasses the other species."

The Buddha said:

"Aṭ Ba La Diên, if a donkey father takes a horse mother, and they bear offspring, what is it called?"

Aṭ Ba La Diên said: "It is called a mule."

The Buddha said:

"The father too is not called a mule, and its mother too is not called a mule; why then is it called a mule?"

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"Because our forefathers called it a mule, we too call it a mule."

The Buddha asked:

"If a horse is the father and takes a donkey as the mother, and they bear offspring, why is it called a hinny? For its father too has not the name hinny, and its mother too has not the name hinny; how then do you know it is a hinny?"

He answered:

"Because our forefathers called it a hinny, we too call it a hinny."

The Buddha asked:

"If a brahmin takes as wife a daughter of a kṣatriya, and the daughter of the kṣatriya bears a child, what is it called? Should it be called of brahmin lineage or of kṣatriya lineage?"

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"I do not know to which species it belongs."

The Buddha said:

"If you do not yourself know the species, why do you call it a mule or a hinny? If a kṣatriya woman takes a brahmin as husband and bears a child, once it has been born into this house, then in accordance with its sacrifices, in accordance with its species, and if that child afterward becomes one who is lofty and brilliant, do you serve the place of its birth?"

He said: "We serve it."

"If a brahmin takes as wife a householder-farmer woman, and the householder-farmer woman bears a child, but that child has a mind to kill, to steal, to indulge in lust, to speak with a double tongue, to speak malicious words, to be angry, and a mind for sacrifices—a person who has such conduct—do you keep company with such a person?"

He said:

"We do not keep company with a child whose mind and consciousness do evil deeds. We would expel such a one from our lineage."

The Buddha said:

"If you hold of yourselves that 'We are descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, and at death are born up in heaven,' why then, merely upon seeing that the mind and consciousness of such a one do evil, do you at once expel them outside? Why then do you speak of species?"

The Buddha said:

"If there be a brahmin who is unfilial toward his father and mother, who delights in killing, in stealing and robbing, who commits the ten evil deeds, where will such a person go at death?"

Aṭ Ba La Diên said:

"A person whose mind and consciousness do such things must, at death, enter into the hells."

The Buddha said:

"If you say your lineage originally comes from Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, the most exalted among humankind, how then could one be born in the hells?"

The Buddha said:

"The people of the world have no species and no permanence. The lofty and brilliant one, by reason of a wholesome resolve of mind, does what is fine and good—that one is honored and noble. As for the person whose mind and intent do evil, that one is base and lowly."

Aṭ Ba La Diên thought to himself: "I originally did not wish to come here; it was because everyone urged me to come." Then he reflected to himself: "It was not my intention to dispute with the Buddha." He spoke further: "The Buddha is one of the right path. The Buddha says: if before he spoke of the species of human beings as changing, now he says again: the resolve of mind and intent is good."

Aṭ Ba La Diên thought to himself: "The words of the Buddha block me both before and behind."

The Buddha said:

"Aṭ Ba La Diên, in a past kalpa there were seven brahmins, all of whom had the conduct of the path, who day after day made sacrifices to heaven. These seven brahmins also said: 'We are descendants of Brahmā, we too are born from the mouth of Brahmā, while ordinary folk are born below. Our species, at death, is born up in heaven.'"

The Buddha said:

"At that time I too was a man of the path named A Tuất. Everyone said: 'My path is the wholesome path.' At that time I saw the seven brahmins all standing before the fire of the shrine. The brahmins all said: 'We, at death, shall blaze brightly like this fire, up in heaven.'"

The Buddha said:

"'Let me see what these people are doing.' I transformed my own body: in my hand I held a banner with a staff of fine gold, my body clad in white garments, and I followed the people upon a disguised chariot, coming to the place of those seven brahmins. At that time the seven brahmins were walking in meditation, and the whole group, seeing me, called to me: 'Brahmin practitioner of the path, from where have you come here?' The seven brahmins said: 'If you are of the Heavenly Path, please tell us in brief: why do you wear such fine robes, ride in a chariot, and hold in your hand a brilliant golden banner? From where were you born, and where do you wish to go? From where have you come? And why have you come to this place?'"

At that time I remained silent and did not answer. Seeing that I did not speak, they all grew angry, and at once cast a spell against me, wishing to make me stand and die. They cast a spell against me, yet my countenance became all the more beautiful. They cast the spell again, and my countenance grew yet more beautiful. Those seven brahmins were greatly alarmed, and said: "All the people upon whom we have cast spells have died, yet now we cast a spell upon this man, and his countenance grows ever more beautiful."

At that time they called again, "A Tuất," thinking to themselves: "Which path do you wish to go to?"

A Tuất then answered: "The intent of our path surpasses all. Why do you grow angry? Then, have you heard A Tuất speak of the Heavenly Path?"

They said: "We have not heard it."

A Tuất said: "Worthy ones, when men of the path meet one another and inquire after one another's welfare, why then are you angry?"

A Tuất said: "I have heard the brahmins say: the brahmins throughout the world are descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, supreme and alone among humankind. Therefore I have come to ask you: If you kindle this fire to make sacrifice to heaven, if you serve heaven exactly according to the Dharma, was there any teacher who declared this? This too is not heard to have been declared by your ancestors."

The seven brahmins said: "Our ancestors did it, so we imitate them."

The man of the path A Tuất said: "Then was your grandmother a daughter of a brahmin, or a daughter of another lineage?"

"We do not know whether our grandmother was a daughter of a kṣatriya, a daughter of a householder-farmer, or a daughter of an artisan. We do not know whether our ancestral grandmother was born of a brahmin or not, or whether those forebears loved others who gave birth to our species."

A Tuất said: "If you do not even know your ancestors, why do you say that your ancestors were born from Brahmā? The disposition of a woman's mind has nothing that can be guaranteed. If you knew the people of the world, then in the union of husband and wife, how is a child conceived?"

They all said: "We do not know."

"If you do not even know your ancestors, and do not know either from where human beings are born, why then do you grow angry at me? When people meet one another, they must first inquire after one another's welfare, to know who is higher and who is lower; one must know the resolve of that person, and only then grow angry—why do you first become angry? If one knew that when a human being first enters the womb in the mother's belly, if it be not by the lustful greed of the father, then it is by the mind of craving and desire of the mother, that a child is first born.

Only when these three conditions are complete does a child come to be. Once it has become a child, who causes the intermediate-state body to meet father and mother to become the child? The child within the mother's belly, if in a former life it did evil, then now within the mother's belly it may be born blind, or deaf, or mute, or hunchbacked, or club-footed, or may become a depraved and evil being, of which the father and mother are wholly unaware.

The father and mother carry the child within the belly, and yet still cannot know whether their own child is beautiful or ugly; how then can you know that your forefathers are descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, supreme and alone among humankind?"

The Buddha said to Aṭ Ba La Diên: "In a former life, these seven brahmins could, by incantation, kill people. At that time I did not accept the words they spoke nor the books they wrote. Now that I have become a Buddha, they come again to tell me: they are descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, supreme and alone among humankind."

The Buddha said to Aṭ Ba La Diên: "Reflect upon what I say: throughout the world, children are born and raised up by reason of their father and mother, and they become persons by reason of their teacher."

The brahmin Aṭ Ba La Diên, together with the five hundred brahmins and the other brahmins, all reflected upon this.

The Buddha said: "In a former time, I was still the teacher of seven brahmins. These seven brahmins were people of virtue, who could by incantation kill people. Now I must distinguish and declare it: human beings have a species; one becomes a hundred, a hundred becomes a thousand, a thousand becomes ten thousand, and ten thousand too is one."

Aṭ Ba La Diên, together with the brahmins, all came forward, placed their heads and faces beneath the feet of the Buddha, and said: "We do not understand the meaning of 'one becomes a hundred, a hundred becomes a thousand, a thousand becomes ten thousand, and ten thousand too is from one.'"

The Buddha said: "It is that the people of the world are exceedingly greedy and attached to birth-and-death. One person bears children and grandchildren, who afterward divide into a hundred households; the hundred households seek the path, yet there is only one path. Why is it called one path? It is the path of the unconditioned. Thus does one become a thousand, and a thousand become ten thousand."

Aṭ Ba La Diên came before the Buddha, knelt down, and said: "We beg you to have pity upon us, as you have pity upon the śramaṇas; do not harbor an angry mind toward us. We beg to return and examine ourselves together."

The Buddha said: "It is good!"

"Tomorrow morning we vow to purify our minds."

They all rose up, placed their heads and faces beneath the feet of the Buddha, and then went out.

THE BUDDHA SPEAKS THE SCRIPTURE

OF THE BRAHMIN AṬ BA LA DIÊN INQUIRING ABOUT THE HONOR OF SPECIES